On the one hand, you’ve got to feel pretty damn good when you’re cast in a Woody Allen film.  He’s an Academy Award winning director who continues to churn out films with outstanding performances year after year.  But, on the other hand, that’s a seriously high-pressure situation right there and Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight stars, Emma Stone and Colin Firth, certainly felt it.

While promoting the film’s July 25th limited release, Stone and Firth sat down with us to talk about hitting the set having done no rehearsals, shooting and re-shooting a certain scene only to have it completely cut from the film, adding Allen’s signature cadence to their own performances and much more.  You can check it all out after the jump.  Also, in case you missed it, click here for what Firth told us about his upcoming Donald Crowhurst movie.

If you were looking forward to catching the next Cameron Crowe film this Christmas, we’ve got some bad news.  Sony Pictures has opted to push Crowe’s untitled new romantic comedy from its initial December 25th release date to May 29, 2015.  Sony recently saw a new cut and decided the pic was more of a summer play rather than a holiday/awards-type film.  Though I’m disappointed I’ll have to wait an extra five months to see the pic, hopefully it’s found a more fitting date.  On its new opening weekend, the film will square off against the horror sequel Insidous Chapter 3 and the animated adventure/family pic Monster Trucks.

Crowe’s untitled romantic comedy stars Bradley Cooper as a defense contractor overseeing a weapons satellite launch from Hawaii who teams up with (and falls for) an Air Force pilot (Emma Stone) to scuttle the launch.  The promising ensemble also includes Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, and Danny McBride.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new film Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, will be the opening film of the 71st Annual Venice Film Festival.  This move obviously conveys a high amount of confidence in the film not only on the part of the Fest, but on behalf of distributor Fox Searchlight as well.  So far everything bodes well for what looks to be a truly original work.

Hit the jump for more on Birdman opening the Venice Film Festival.  The film also stars Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, and Amy Ryan. Birdman (aka The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) opens October 17th. And if you haven’t checked out the trailer, please do so. It’s wonderful. 

Sony Pictures Classics has released a few new Magic in the Moonlight images from writer/director Woody Allen’s latest film.  The romantic comedy is set in the south of France in the 1920s and stars Colin Firth as an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle, as a young woman (Emma Stone) claims to be able to communicate with spirits.  As he spends more time with the girl, however, he starts to wonder if she may not be a fraud after all.  The first trailer promises a delightful romp, and these images show off more of the gorgeous Jazz-age landscapes as well as a wonderfully goofy face courtesy of one Ms. Emma Stone.

Hit the jump to take a look at the new Magic in the Moonlight images.  The film also stars Eileen Atkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, and Jacki Weaver.  Magic in the Moonlight opens in limited release July 25.

Fox Searchlight has released five new Birdman images.  Michael Keaton plays Riggin Thomson an actor, who once played an iconic superhero, and now faces troubles with his ego and family as he prepares to mount a Broadway production of Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love in a bid to reclaim past glory.  Edward Norton co-stars as an actor in the play and Emma Stone plays Thomson’s daughter.  Birdman is already one of my most-anticipated films for the remainder of 2014, and these images (the one with Keaton and Norton preparing to fight, in particular) make me want to see the movie even more.

Hit the jump to check out the Birdman images, and in case you haven’t seen the great teaser trailer, click here.  The film also stars Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, and Amy Ryan.  Birdman opens October 17th.

Fox Searchlight has released the first Birdman trailer.  Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) stars Michael Keaton as an actor who once played an iconic superhero, and now faces troubles with his ego and family as he prepares to mount a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim past glory.  Aside from the biographical implications of the story, this teaser trailer has some gorgeous shots, and looks far more fantastical than anything director Alejandro González Iñárritu has done before.  I’m also a huge fan of Keaton, and I can’t wait to see him a dramatic role that puts him front-and-center.

Hit the jump to check out the Birdman trailer.  The film opens on October 17th, and also stars Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, and Andrea Riseborough.

Sony Pictures Classics has released the first Magic in the Moonlight trailer.  Woody Allen‘s romantic comedy is set in the south of France in the 1920s and stars Colin Firth as an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle, as a young woman (Emma Stone) claims to be able to communicate with spirits.  As he spends more time with the girl, however, he starts to wonder if she may not be a fraud after all.  The film’s “supernatural comedy” leanings aren’t wholly dissimilar from Allen’s approach to Midnight in Paris, and with Firth and Stone as the two leads, there’s an unending amount of charm on display.  In short, the film looks to be an absolute delight.

Hit the jump to watch the Magic in the Moonlight trailer.  The film also stars Eileen Atkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, and Jacki Weaver.  Magic in the Moonlight opens in limited release July 25.

Here’s a bit of casting (and anti-casting) news today:

• Gerard Butler has exited Ericson Core’s Point Break remake scripted by Kurt Wimmer.  Luke Bracey still stars.
• Channing Tatum will star in and produce an untitled crime thriller for Sony.  Kristin Gore will pen the script.
• Emma Stone has joined Woody Allen’s latest untitled film, which also stars Joaquin Phoenix.
• Michelle Forbes is the latest addition to Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

I’ll say this much for The Amazing Spider-Man 2: it’s unique. I can’t recall a film off the top of my head that delivers one cringeworthy moment after another, eye roll upon eye roll, only to stick the landing and actually make me semi-look forward to the next installment. As many have stated already, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are actually quite good in the film as its emotional anchors. As much as I enjoy Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man (and love his Spider-Man 2), I’ll take Garfield over Tobey Maguire as my wall-crawler of choice any day of the week. Still yet, that doesn’t change the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a tonal mess for about 90% of its runtime. To make matters worse, Jamie Foxx‘s Electro is so poorly written, and so ridiculously portrayed, that he’d be right at home in a Joel Schumacher Batman movie. And yet, that ending still resonates with me and I’m kind of interested to see what’s next. Like I said, it’s unique.

We’ll talk more about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 after the jump with Matt’s review and Steve’s video interviews. In addition, this week’s Top 5 also highlights the Star Wars: Episode VII cast announcement, the new international Godzilla trailer, Zack Snyder officially landing the Justice League directorial gig, and the first trailer for the excellent looking doc The Internet’s Own Boy. Keep reading for a brief recap and link to each of the above.

When Sony decided to reboot Spider-Man, it was a bit of surprise since Sam Raimi‘s series still had life in it, and everyone involved in the production was eager to return for a fourth installment.  But the studio cravenly hit the restart button, and even though they hired a director with great potential and a strong cast, The Amazing Spider-Man was a weak return for the wall-crawler.  It was too gritty and the plot was an utter mess based on coincidence with entire plotlines cut to ribbons (what happened to Irrfan Khan?).  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wants to function as a reboot of a reboot, and while it’s marginally better than its predecessor, it suffers from an overstuffed plot where no one seems to be on the same page.  There’s a fun, lighthearted tone that always peeks out, especially in the scenes between Peter (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen (Emma Stone) as well as Spidey at his most buoyant.  But that vibrancy is always snuffed out by ridiculous villains, cheap motivations, and shiny but lifeless action scenes.

Sony Pictures has released new The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie clips, six minutes of B-roll, and a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the score.  The follow-up finds Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) surrounded by antagonistic forces as Electro (Jamie Foxx) emerges, Parker’s old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) returns to New York City, and everyone seems to have a connection to the shady goings-on at Oscorp.  The music stuff is particularly cool because it shows composer Hans Zimmer recording with the band. And if you don’t blink, you might see director Marc Webb playing guitar towards the end of the video.

Hit the jump to check out the clips, B-roll footage, and behind-the-scenes video of the scoring process.  The film also stars Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper, B.J. Novak, and Felicity Jones.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2nd.

A new image has gone online for Woody Allen‘s upcoming film Magic in the Moonlight.  We previously reported that the movie “is a romantic comedy about an Englishman (Colin Firth) brought in to help unmask a possible swindle.  Personal and professional complications ensue. The film is set in the south of France in the 1920s against a backdrop of wealthy mansions, the Côte d’Azur, jazz joints and fashionable spots for the wealthy of the Jazz Age.”  The latest issue of EW reports that the “possible swindle” involves the Englishman trying “to expose a phony mystic (Emma Stone), only to end up falling for her.”  Furthermore, Marcia Gay Harden will play “Stone’s mother and co-conspirator.”

Allen says he had the idea for “ages” but it only recently clicked when he decided to set it in the south of France in the 1920s rather than the present day.  Allen also said that the reason for him shooting so many of his recent films in Europe is “By sheer accident because I was getting European financing. I’ve wound up being a foreign filmmaker.”  Hit the jump to check out the image.  Magic in the Moonlight opens July 25th.

Sony Pictures has released another clip from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  The follow-up finds Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) surrounded by antagonistic forces as Electro (Jamie Foxx) emerges, Parker’s old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) returns to New York City, and everyone seems to have a connection to the shady goings-on at Oscorp.  This clip features some admirable creativity when it comes to the variety of ways Spidey must weave his web in order to save New York City’s hapless citizens from Electro.  However, you have to accept the notion that his webbing can move faster than electricity.

Hit the jump to check out the Amazing Spider-Man 2 clip.  The film also stars Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper, B.J. Novak, and Felicity Jones.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2nd.

For the first time that I can remember since I started writing for Collider in 2010, director Peter Weir‘s The Truman Show made headlines this week when we learned that Paramount is developing a TV series adaptation of the film. While I won’t waste any space today discussing my feelings on the adaptation (mostly because there aren’t any real details to dissect as of now), I will absolutely take this opportunity to talk about my adoration of the film. The Truman Show ranks among my all-time favorites with ease and, if pressed to name a lone favorite, it would likely make that cut too. I actually didn’t watch it until my second year of college, circa 2007, but I credit that first viewing as a benchmark cinematic experience for me; one that helped me begin to understand the impact that a movie could have on a person’s outlook and perception of the world around them. I would eventually go on to dedicate my graduate school research to the film, during which I watched it at least 15 more times; wrote this semi-boring perceptual effects analysis; and wrote/recorded this somewhat less boring seven song record. On paper, these projects were a way to fulfill requirements towards my degree. In reality, it was an excuse to delve further into the headspace of a work that, for all intents and purposes, changed my life.

All personal reflections aside, this week’s Top 5 features interviews for and Matt’s review of Draft Day, early reactions to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the announcement that Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman on CBS’ The Late Show, Sony selecting Drew Goddard to direct The Sinister Six, and the first look at Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist. Keep reading for a brief recap and link to each of the above.

In case you haven’t seen enough of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 yet, Sony has released an extended TV spot containing even more new footage.  I’m curious as to why they keep doing this.  Are they worried people won’t come out to see a Spider-Man movie?  It’s Spider-Man.  People will see it.  It will sell lots of toys and other merchandise.  It’s also the first movie of the summer blockbuster season (no disrespect to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but summer blockbuster season begins on the first weekend of May; it’s science).  Does giving so much of the movie away really benefit anyone?  I guess if you can’t get enough of the movie before you see the movie, then you’re over the moon about the company’s marketing campaign.

Hit the jump to check out the The Amazing Spider-Man 2 extended TV spot. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper, B.J. Novak, Colm Feore, and Sally Field.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2nd.